[CA] [CA11] Autopilot hunts terribly

[delightful]

Hi,

I recently finished a functional install of an EV-100 system on an Ericson 32 sailboat wheel drive.

Right now, everything powers on and seems operational, but when I go to engage the autopilot, it hunts like you wouldn't believe. I have tried every iteration of Performance/Cruising/Leisure,
Sailboat / Sailboat Slow Turn,
Rudder Damping 1-9,
Hard Over Time 6-20sec

that I can think of. Compared to other videos I have seen of the EV-100 working, it appears that my system doesn't know how to perform minute adjustments. I see other peoples' pilots go "tick tick tick" for minor adjustments, but mine makes macro -15 / +15 degree swings. It goes in a straight line if you zoomed out far enough, but the straight line is a constant zig zag.

Changing Performance modes only increases the angle it jumps between, such as -15/+15 on Performance, -30/+30 on Cruising, and so on.

Compass deviation is 4. I have tried calibrating it multiple times.

The system is wired from my breaker panel. The ACU is powered by 10GA wire dropping to 12GA at the connection point on the ACU, as I could not get the 10GA to fit in the green thing.

The SeaTalk power cable goes from the breaker panel to a 3-way spur connector.
The 3-way spur connector has one end capped off w/ the blue plug, and one end has the blue backbone cable going to the 5-socket backbone connector.
The 5-socket backbone connector has the EV-1, p70, and ACU attached to it, as well as the blue backbone cable and blue plug.

All connections seem tight.

I do notice that I get some plastic bearing noise when I turn my wheel with the clutch disengaged. I have tried adjusting the clutch screw but it seems as "off" as I can get it.

Here is a video of the behavior I'm talking about:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM0...dzRldxcXln

Thank you for your help.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum delightful,

Where has the EV-1 been installed onboard? What versions of software are installed within the autopilot's EV-1, ACU100, and p70S components? This information may be determined via the About System feature within the autopilot's Diagnostics menu. Have you performed a Pilot Factory Reset? Has the autopilot been interfaced any instruments or GPS data source? If so, please identify these items and how they have been interfaced to the autopilot. If not, then please indicate whether you entered a boat speed via the autopilot's settings and the value which was entered. What was the sea state when tested? And finally, does the problem occur when operating the vessel in Auto (not Track) mode?

The link to the video resulted in an error.

[delightful]

Here's the video reuploaded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y02PwFhSKbU

Software:
p70s: 3.07
ACU100: 3.11
EV-1: 3.02

I have performed a factory reset twice via the p70s. Compass deviation remains between 2-4 every time I have reset it. The EV-1 is installed in the same location as the, identical boat, though this is not my boat. It's an interior bulkhead just within the companionway, upper starboard side.

No instrument or GPS data.

Boat speed was automatically set to 5 kts and I haven't changed that as it's accurate.

Sea state was flat in the harbor.

I have only operated the device in Auto, as Track seems to require instrument data that is not connected.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Delightful,

1) The installation of the ACU and backbone appears to be satisfactory. The EV-1 installation would appear to be satisfactory as long as its illuminated orientation arrow is pointed forward (not indicated by the photos) ... please confirm.

2) Please note that options to perform a Factory Reset to the autopilot's control head and to the autopilot itself may both be commanded via the autopilot control head and are often confused. Please confirm that the Pilot Factory Reset (MENU->SET-UP->AUTOPILOT CALIBRATION->COMMISSIONING->PILOT FACTORY RESET) has been commanded and that the actions specified within the FAQ found here have been followed. If so, then the default settings of the autopilot should generally suffice ... particularly under the conditions stated and shown within the video. Performance will yield the tightest handling.

For clarification, I also want to ensure that the speed source has been configured to Manual rather then Auto.

Finally, I have a couple of questions regarding the steering system:
1) what is the steering system's hard over time?
2) is there any significant play / lash in the steering system?

[delightful]

Hi there, happy Monday.

1. I can confirm the green LED is pointing forward on the boat.
2. The Pilot Factory Reset is what I have performed a few times now.. each time followed by the dockside wizard and then the appropriate compass calibration.. deviation remains between 2-4
3. Speed source has not been configured to manual.
4. Hard over time is 20 seconds but changing it does not seem to affect the pilot's behavior. I have tried the settings above everywhere from 6-20.
5. No significant play, perhaps a slight bit of looseness.

Again, it seems like something is going wrong in the way it communicated to itself -- it doesn't know how to do small 'tick' adjustments, which I have seen to be a characteristic movement of this system.

One thing I have noted is that the associated "power on/off" light on my breaker panel has a slow fade when I flip it off to depower the pilot. Is this because the ACU itself slowly drains DC until it shuts off, or could this be a sign of a wiring issue?

Video of the power light. "Instrument" is a different circuit, the "Accessory" switch is what the Seatalk backbone and the ACU are connected to.

https://youtu.be/uskIgQVcqeM

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Delightful,

Good news. After receiving a similar report, we attempted and were able to duplicate the reported issue. Aside from the S-ing reported when in Auto mode, when running the Dockside Wizard, customers will experience the drive being power fully to the stops rather than pulsed in a direction when executing the motor phasing part of the Wizard. The problem has been determined to be rooted within the v1.11 ACU software which had been partially introduced to accommodate recently introduced components within Evolution ACUs. Updating the ACU with v1.12 or later software and then performing the actions specified within the FAQ found here should address these symptoms. Should one's system not include a Raymarine MFD which is capable of updating the software within Raymarine products which have been interfaced to a powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone, then please click here to view the FAQ addressing other options for updating product software.